The Last Betrayal
by LikeABoss27
Summary: Lief is now the King of Deltora. Will he choose Jasmine his best friend with only he could trust the decisions with his heart or another girl who has been his childhood crush that he trusted with his only life, only to find himself stabbed with a knife in his back? Dedicated for this month of VALENTINES' DAY! RATED T for safe.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Deltora Quest…

**Chapter 1: Free Time with Jasmine**

**{LIEF}**

**Lief was undergoing a major hectic schedule.**

His fingers turned numb as he reached for his golden-feathered pen. His fingers trembled as he affixed his signature on the important royal scrolls. His forehead was already starting to get sweaty and oily again.

"Is there something wrong, your Majesty?" A voice asked from above him.

Lief looked up and forced a smile. It was one of his royal supervisors, asking him again. He was pretty sure he wanted to say _No_, but instead, he replied, "I'm fine."

His royal supervisor smiled and excused himself. He and the others eventually left, leaving a tired Lief, still signing the scrolls.

Lief cursed and went back to signing the scrolls. "Why do I have to do all these? Why can't they ever leave me alone?" He grumbled. "A break time would be good now."

He was about to stand up when he heard a light creak at the door. A small light entered the room.

"Come in." Lief said and tried to look at who was behind the door.

"Lief?" A small, feminine voice replied.

"Come on, Jasmine. I know it's you." Lief sighed and sat down again.

Jasmine came inside and closed the door shut. She still didn't change. It was the same usual Jasmine in rugged clothes, olive hair, jade eyes and tan skin. Yet she managed to become taller, which Lief hated because he knew they were the same size from now on.

Jasmine laughed. "How did you know it was me, your Majesty?" She worked a teasing sound into her voice.

"Hey," Lief replied, grinning. "When you travel with someone, you can easily recognize their voices." He smirked at Jasmine. "Especially wild forest girls."

"Hey!" Jasmine protested, crossing her arms. She managed to laugh too.

Their laughter broke apart when Queen Sharn entered the room.

She stared at Lief, at Jasmine, then back at Lief. Her hair was braided and plaited with golden embroidery. Her face was confident, proud and beautiful, but it seems that her eyes were contemplative and sorrowful. She wore a rich-jeweled dress and her chin held up in position.

"Hello, Jasmine." Queen Sharn greeted and smiled at her.

Jasmine smiled and curtsied. She looked up and said, "Good Morning to you, your majesty."

Queen Sharn smiled and turned to Lief. She walked towards him and glanced at the scrolls placed on the nearby table. She focused her attention first on the scrolls and approached the table. Her fingers ran through the edges of the scrolls and eventually picked up one of them. She unrolled the scroll and her eyes examined the contents. Then, she glanced at Lief and smiled.

"I see you have signed the scrolls much faster than I expected." Queen Sharn praised.

Lief, who had been staring at his mother for a long time now, gave her a brief smile, for he is very tired. Queen Sharn seemed to notice this and turned to Jasmine.

"Jasmine." Queen Sharn called her name.

Jasmine, who was sitting contemplatively in a couch at the corner of the room, stared at Queen Sharn and stood up.

Lief stared at both of them in curiosity and uneasily. He wondered what Queen Sharn would have to tell Jasmine.

"I want you…to take Lief…for some walk and be back at the palace before noontime. You can visit anywhere you like, but be back before noontime." Queen Sharn said, her voice trying to be calm and persuasive. Then, she glanced uneasily at Lief and asked, "Lief, dear, do you really want some break time?"

Lief, who was really waiting for this question, gave her a smile and nodded.

Queen Sharn sighed in relief. She turned around and walked to the door. As she pushed the heavy, gigantic, wooden doors aside, she took one last glance at them and said, "I hope you enjoy your very first break time, dears."

As she was gone, Lief suppressed a smile. Then, he glanced at Jasmine.

"So…" He started. "Where would you want to go?"

Jasmine stared at him and grinned. Her twinkle in her jade eyes made Lief realize that he already knew the answer.

"Ugh, Oh for crying out loud, do I really have to say it out loud?" She said, obviously bored with the answer.

Lief laughed and smirked at her. "You can and you can't."

Jasmine played the curls of her hair with her forefinger. "So, I've got two options?"

Lief nodded, making his sapphire eyes twinkle like this was some kind of game. Really, Lief loved it when he tricked Jasmine. He would laugh every time Jasmine's cheeks would turn rosy red. She would either walk away or just try to kick and punch him in his arm and legs. They would look like children, running through the hallway, passing through the guards and eventually find their selves at Jasmine's father, Doom. Then, Lief would make up for the explanation. But, that was before things started to get busy around the palace.

Lief knew Jasmine would get mad at him, if he can't find a time to have company with her. No matter how many times Lief explained to her, she just was as stubborn as a 7-year old kid throwing tantrums. But, still Jasmine doesn't know his deepest secret and he would always meet someone…

_Stop that, _Lief caught himself. _You're getting sentimental all over again._

"Lief?" Jasmine called his name again.

Lief eventually snapped back to the reality world. Then, he realized he had been staring at the door for too long now. His sapphire eyes moved to where Jasmine was. Jasmine was still standing, this time her expression clearly read: _Explain what's going on._ Her arms where crossed together and her feet where crossed too.

Lief blinked and said, "Um, what are we talking about again?"

Jasmine flashed an irritated look at him. "Lief! You're daydreaming again!" She said, irritation also shown in her voice.

"Am I?" Lief asked, trying to sound nonchalantly.

"N-No. I-I mean…" She stammered, cursed and sat back down again.

Lief thought for a moment and said, "Oh, yeah. I remember. We were talking about the place I want to go."

Jasmine stared at him in annoyance. Her expression read: _Well, duh. Isn't it obvious? What the heck are you thinking, Lief?!_

Lief is good in expression reading at Jasmine. Her face always shows that she says something, but is always kept in her mind. But when it comes to eye reading, Lief isn't sure if she is happy, hurt or even sad when it comes to that. He knows that already, still in his mind, he can't make up if Jasmine was really his best friend or something else.

"Well, a walk around town would be nice." He said simply, grinning.

"Hmm…" Jasmine thought for a moment. Then, finally, she said, "Sure. Let's go."

Lief grinned and walked towards her in a flash. "I've been waiting for you to say that all day." He muttered in her ear.

Jasmine chuckled. She took one last glance at Lief and said, "You know, your Majesty, I think we should go. I think I can handle for a while before you start to annoy me."

"Then what are we waiting for?" He said out loud. "Let's go!"

Before Jasmine could even answer again, Lief grabbed Jasmine's wrist and gripped it. He dragged Jasmine, closed the door and ran outside.

**Author's Note: **Hey guys. So, how was the story? Was it short? I'm open to criticisms as long as it's constructive and helpful because this is my very first fanfic. I'll update the next chapter soon. Oh my Gosh! So, as for gratitude or thanks and appreciation for reading my story… I'll give you a short detail of Chapter 2. Chapter 2 is their walk but is again interrupted by a mysterious enemy. There I said it but sorry. Just don't wanna be a spoiler, guys. See you soon. Love y'all and HAPPY MONTH OF VALENTINES' DAY! 3

~AMALONER~


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